Europa

The European Parliament today adopted a strong and comprehensive resolution on the rise of neo-fascist violence in Europe and more broadly racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance.

The first time such a resolution has been adopted since 1999 and it is an important position of the parliament ahead of the EU election.

Please find the resolution attached:

Rise of neo fascist violence in Europe resolution

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE

European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI)

Brussels, 26/10/2016

European Parliament removes parliamentary immunity of two MEPs for inciting racial hatred

The European Parliament voted to remove the parliamentary immunity of the Northern League’s Mario Borghezio for racist comments made against former Italian integration minister and current MEP/Co-President of the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup (ARDI) Cécile Kyenge and the former head of the Front National Jean-Marie Le Pen for hate speech.

Mr Borghezio, in an interview in April 2013, was ruled to have engaged in racist Afrophobic speech against the then Minister for Integration Cécile Kyenge during an interview on Radio24. According to the resolution, Mr Borghezio’s statements “exceeded the tone generally encountered in political debate and are, moreover, profoundly unparliamentary in nature and violated Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and were deemed not to have been made in the performance of the duties of a Member of the European Parliament.” Mr Borghezio will now go on trial at the Court of Milan where he faces charges of advocating ideas founded on superiority and racial or ethnic hatred, which is punishable under Article 1(a) of Italian Law No 205/1993.

Mr Le Pen is facing investigations over comments in a video from June 2014 in where he defended his far-right views against attacks from singers Patrick Bruel and Madonna and former tennis star Yannick Noah. In the video, Le Pen said, “Listen, we’ll just do an oven load next time” in reference to singers and tennis player’s backgrounds.

Cécile Kyenge, Co-President of ARDI, said: “A member of the European Parliament which shows such contempt and hatred because of the color of my skin has not only insulted me, but the values ​​of the European institutions. Every racist expression and incitement to hatred is by its very nature incompatible with the responsibilities that we are called to fulfill as MEPs. This is why the decision of the European Parliament gives an important signal that goes beyond my own personal situation: racism can never be an instrument of political campaigning.”

Soraya Post, Co-President of ARDI, said: “Hate crimes are clearly connected to and affected by political leadership. In the past years, there has been a constant stream of concerning comments from politicians across Europe, that fall short of the responsibilities they have as public figures and opinion leaders. I am pleased that the European Parliament voted in favour of removing parliamentary immunity and sent a strong signal to MEPs and society that incitement to racial hatred is unacceptable and will be punished.”

Michael Privot, Director of ENAR, said: “This is an important decision that shows the European Parliament is finally willing to take racist speech seriously. We have seen the very damaging impact racist discourses can have on migrants’ and ethnic minorities’ lives, for instance in the aftermath of Brexit. If politicians make comments that cross the line into incitement to hatred, they should be sanctioned. We now hope the European Parliament will make this standard practice and part of their rules, and that it will set the tone for national parliaments in upholding the fundamental values of the EU at the core of democratic debates.”

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International Days of Action from 10 to 17 October

We’ve only got 44 days left to collect signatures for our European Citizens‘ Initiative (ECI) against TTIP and CETA! The one-year collection phase – that all ECIs have according to EU rules – ends on 6 October. The success we have had so far is something to be proud of: just today, we surpassed the 2.5 million mark!

How many more signatures can we collect by 6 October? A lot, if everyone contributes! Imagine every signatory gets just one extra person to sign: we could double our signature count. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite so simple because we can ‘only’ reach about 350,000 people with this newsletter. Perhaps we can manage 3 million signatures with your help? Join the final push!

Here’s what you can do:

Tell us how many signatures you pledge to collect by 6 October, so we have a rough overview. Simply use our online form to do so.

Ask your friends on Facebook and Twitter to sign the ECI.

Print off a signature sheet in your language and get at least one other person to sign.

If you still have any completed signature sheets at home,please send them promptly! (The return address can be found at the bottom right of the sheet.)

In case you need help with the arguments against TTIP, we have put together some useful materials on our website (available in 8 languages). As well as the 3-minute-info, you can find a brand new timeline for TTIP, CETA and our ECI.

There’s much more to do by 6 October. We need to demonstrate to the EU institutions and our national decision makers how many people oppose the TTIP and CETA treaties. We need to protect our democracy, environment, public services as well as the rights of workers and consumers! Please help to make the ECI a massive success!

Best wishes,
Your Stop TTIP campaign team
(Stephanie Roth and Cornelia Reetz)

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EIGE launches Gender Equality Index 2015

Since 2005 the EU is still only half way towards gender equality, as shown by the Gender Equality Index 2015 of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).  Two years on from the launch in 2013, EIGE has built a time series of the Index covering 2005, 2010 and 2012.  The total score of the Index for the EU rose marginally from 51.3 out of 100 in 2005 and to 52.9 in 2012. The progress per Member State and per domain however is uneven – some Member States have improved while some have regressed. ‘The significant differences in progress among the Member States reflect the different choices of priorities and approaches in implementing EU policies and objectives’ concludes Virginija Langbakk, Director of EIGE. Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourová underlines:‘Progress towards gender equality in the Member States is real, but important gaps remain. I am committed to tackling the remaining gender gaps in Europe.’

More information:

The full report: http://eige.europa.eu/rdc/eige-publications/gender-equality-index-2015-measuring-gender-equality-in-the-european-union-2005-2012

The Gender Equality Index on line: http://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/gender-equality-index

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Reducing Ethnic Profiling in the European Union:

A Handbook of Good Practices

Ethnic profiling by police in Europe is a widespread form of discrimination. By focusing on appearance rather than behavior, police who engage in ethnic profiling violate basic human rights norms. This handbook provides a wide-ranging review of current efforts to reduce ethnic profiling and support non-discriminatory law enforcement. Its numerous case studies examine: non-discriminatory standards established in legal instruments and operational guidelines, research and monitoring methodologies, institutional practices that create non-discriminatory workplaces that reflect the societies they serve, and models of community outreach and engagement. The case studies and explanatory text aim to provide clear and practical support to all those seeking to understand the dynamics and reduce the frequency of ethnic profiling. Taken together, they offer a holistic approach to law enforcement that does not discriminate.

Link naar dit handboek:  http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/reducing-ep-in-EU-12172012_0.pdf

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ECRI rapport: Discriminatie in Nederland

De Europese Commissie tegen Racisme en Intolerantie (ECRI) is ingesteld door de Raad van Europa. Het is een onafhankelijk toezichtsorgaan voor de mensenrechtendat zich heeft gespecialiseerd in vraagstukken van racisme en onverdraagzaamheid. De commissie bestaat uit onafhankelijke, onpartijdige leden, die zijn benoemd op grond van moreel gezag en erkende deskundigheid op het gebied van racisme, vreemdelingenhaat, antisemitisme en onverdraagzaamheid. Een van de statutaire activiteiten van de ECRI is monitoring van de situatie omtrent racisme en onverdraagzaamheid in elke lidstaat van de Raad van Europa. Per land wordt de situatie geanalyseerd en worden er suggesties en voorstellen gedaan voor oplossingen van de vastgestelde problemen. Op 15 oktober 2013 werd het vierde Monitorrapport voor Nederland gepubliceerd: ECRI rapport Nederland 2013

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UNSCR 1325: Briefing Note “On Gender, Peace, Security and Development: What can the EU do?”

In December 2008, the European Union (EU) adopted the Comprehensive Approach, which provides a coherent policy framework to guide its actions on gender and peacebuilding, in line with the provisions of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 on Women, Peace and Security. The EU reiterated its strong commitment to supporting partner countries in fully implementing the UN Security Council Resolutions on women, peace and security by adopting the EU Plan of Action, which includes operational targets for implementing these resolutions. In To be accountable for this policy, the EU adopted in July 2010 a list of 17 implementation indicators in order to measure EU’s own performance on gender issues in fragile, conflict and post-conflict countries. Using these frameworks as a reference point, this paper provides guidance and practical tools that can be used to ensure that gender issues are effectively mainstreamed into all aspects of the EU’s peace, security and development-related work.

More information: BN-Women-Peace-Security-and-Development

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Equinet, the European Network of Equality Bodies,

Equinet brings together 38 organizations from 31 European countries, which are empowered to counteract discrimination as national equality bodies across the range of grounds including age, disability, gender, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, and sexual orientation.  Equinet works to enable national equality bodies to achieve and exercise their full potential by sustaining and developing a network and a platform at European level.   For more information visit the website:  www.equineteurope.org

Background paper and Summary of the 8th Meeting of the European Integration Forum “The contribution of migrants to economic growth in the EU”. Brussels, 16 – 17 October 2012 – http://ec.europa.eu/ewsi .  Download: Summary 8th Meeting of the European Integration en Forum Background_paper_8thForum(1)

The Dutch member of EQUINET – Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (College voor de Rechten van de Mens) – has been officially launched at a festive event in Utrecht on 2 October 2012, following an intensive period of preparations led by the Dutch Equal Treatment Commission (ETC). The Institute, as the successor of the ETC and its work, has received a wider human rights remit, going beyond equal treatment and non-discrimination issues.

Contact details:

Postal address: Kleinesingel 1-3, 3572 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands

Telephone: +31 (0) 30 888 38 88

General email address: info@mensenrechten.nl

Website: http://www.mensenrechten.nl/

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European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children: English

Europese Strategie voor een beter internet voor kinderen: Nederlands

http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/communication-european-strategy-make-internet-better-place-kids

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Women In Development Europe

Women In Development Europe (WIDE) is a European feminist network of women´s organisations, development NGOs, gender specialists and women´s rights activists.

Download the WIDE  publications:

WIDE contribution to Public Consultation on a new Trade and Development Communication 2011

and WIDE’s Position paper on the global social, economic and environmental crisis Taking Stock: The financial crisis and development from a feminist perspective

Taking Stock

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Europa en de ACP-landen

De 79 ACP-landen (landen uit Afrika, het Caribische gebied en de Pacific) hebben een speciale relatie met de Europese Unie. De samenwerking is toegespitst op twee belangrijke hoofdthema’s: economische en commerciële samenwerking en ontwikkelingssamenwerking. De samenwerking tussen de EU en de ACP-landen wordt gecoördineerd vanuit het ACP-secretariaat in Brussel. TIYE International wordt bij ACP-EC aangelegenheden in Brussel vertegenwoordigd door Joyce van Genderen-Naar. Lees hier haar verslag:

ACP and EU Tired of EPAs.

Als journalist is Joyce ook bij vergaderingen, seminars van onder andere CariCom en EPA aanwezig en geeft zij informatie door aan TIYE International. Vanuit TIYE International wordt soms een petitie ondertekend of een reactie geschreven. Voorbeeld daarvan is de reactie rond de kwestie over de bananenhandel in het Caribisch gebied. Lees hier de reactie van TIYE: To the ambassador of Republic Suriname regarding bananas.

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1st Black European Women’s Congress Vienna 2007

hellenTIYE was one of the partners who organised Black Women’s contribution to the European year of Equal opportunities for all – Towards a Just Society. The first Black European Women’s Congress took place  in Vienna from 27-29 September 2007:

Press Release 10 09 2007 and Invitation folder

The 1e Black Women’s Congress resulted in the

Vienna Declaration of the 1. Black European Women’s Congress, 2007

Read more in the

Congress_Newsletter

Press Release Black European Women’s Council April 2009

Updates and statements, visit the BEWC website:

www.bewnet.eu

congress

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Other European News

Black European Summit Brussels Declaration 2009